Denver, CO (Best E Casino) - Kobe Bryant led a balanced Lakers attack with 22 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, as Los Angeles took a 102-84 victory in Game 3 and has the Denver Nuggets on the verge of being swept in this Western Conference quarterfinal.

The Lakers can put the Nuggets away in Game 4 on Monday at the Pepsi Center.

Five Lakers finished in double-figures with Luke Walton and Pau Gasol chipping in 15 and 14 points, respectively. Derek Fisher netted four three-pointers, including three in the pivotal third period, en route to 14 points. Lamar Odom finished with 12 points and seven boards for LA, which held Denver to just 37.2 percent shooting from the field.

"We came out and executed the triangle," Odom said. "Our team is playing great."

Denver's superstar duo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, who ranked third and fourth on the NBA's regular season scoring list, shot a combined 10-for-38 from the floor. Iverson netted 15 and Anthony logged a team-high 16 points with 10 rebounds. Linas Kleiza added 15 points and nine boards, but Denver could never get the home crowd into the game and faces being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

With the Lakers holding a 53-46 lead at the half, Bryant came alive in the early going after the break. The MVP candidate had eight points in the first half, but tallied nine in the first four minutes of the third. Back-to-back jumpers from the guard began the frame and the crowd began to lose interest in Denver's lackluster effort.

Behind 69-51 with six minutes left in the stanza, the Nuggets got the home fans back into it with eight straight points. Lakers coach Phil Jackson called a timeout to settle his team down, and the top seed responded with a 12-5 spurt that included two treys from Fisher. The run deflated the Nuggets and the squad never recovered.

Los Angeles pushed the differential to 83-64 with one quarter remaining and milked the clock on each offensive possession to preserve its lead. Denver coach George Karl tried throwing new life into Nuggets' sputtering offense by benching the struggling Iverson for Anthony Carter.

"I've never been this frustrated," Iverson said. "It's about heart and we just didn't get it done. We can't have a championship team without defense."

Carter did little to help the lost cause, as Walton hit two straight field goals to expand the lead to 23 points with six minutes left in the lopsided affair.

Neither squad looked fluid offensively in the opening quarter with the Lakers leading, 23-20, after 12 minutes of play.

At the 5:37 mark of the second, Denver's Eduardo Najera drove the lane, faked a pass to the perimeter and made a layup for a 40-38 Denver lead. The Nuggets, however, would only make one field goal the rest of the half -- an Anthony jumper -- and LA took a 53-46 halftime lead behind 13 points from Gasol.

Game Notes

The Lakers have won three straight Game 3s in the playoffs...The Lakers and Nuggets have met in the postseason on three previous occasions with LA winning each time...Denver's Kenyon Martin recorded 12 points and seven rebounds, while J.R. Smith had 11 points in defeat...Marcus Camby pulled down a game- high 12 boards for Denver, who out-rebounded LA by a 53-39 margin..Denver committed 16 turnovers to LA's 11.